Nonstop flight route between Whiteriver, Arizona, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whiteriver Airport (WTR), Whiteriver, Arizona, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,223 miles (or 5,186 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Whiteriver Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Whiteriver Airport and Thule Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Whiteriver Airport (WTR):

• Because of Whiteriver Airport's high elevation of 5,153 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WTR. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WTR a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Whiteriver Airport (WTR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Whiteriver Airport (WTR) is Show Low Regional Airport (SOW), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) N of WTR.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteriver Airport", another name for WTR is "E24".
• The furthest airport from Whiteriver Airport (WTR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,383 miles (18,320 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.